The amazing Australasian Darter
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2021
- Australasian Darters (Anhinga novaehollandiae) are amazing birds - underwater spearfishers engineered by evolution to sink rather than float, they can also soar to great heights on thermals and travel long distances in search of opportunity.
Unlike their close relatives, the cormorants, they spear their prey rather than grabbing it.
And if they look prehistoric, it's because they're of an incredibly ancient lineage, stretching back maybe 50 million years.
I don't think I've ever seen a male darter. The one you've captured is gorgeous!
I don't know that there's ever been any research on the distribution of male versus female darters but I do wonder whether the males might have a large "territory" while the females have a smaller "home range".
Great informative video.
They look like a nondescript bird but airing out the wings in sun they have stunning colours.
Fancy being adept at swimming and able to fly to the thermals. .
Great video, thank you!
Thanks for the informative video! Yesterday I saw a female eating a big fish (giant for her slim neck!) on Parramatta River. She carried it across the river onto the bank and managed to swallow it in whole. That's 150m away so the videos/pictures I took weren't very good.
they're magnificent for sure
Thanks for the upload! Your voice is really nice. ‘They’ must hire you to narrate much more documentaries.
Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱
Thanks Suzanne! Alas, at my age, nobody is going to hire me as a narrator.
Great informative video. Thank you
I do my best. Check out some of the others..
Does 'very occasionally' mean less often than occasionally?
It does! According to the authorities, only the odd vagrant. Funny when you consider they turn up in New Zealand. And eBird has a couple of records from Africa (near Cape Town and just outside Lagos, Nigeria) but I'd distrust those records because they're probably the similar African Darter.